NZ Nanny State Spying, Integrity Intervention Centre

Tues 28.01.14. George Orwell would've liked NZ with its Integrity Intervention Centre. Kiwis regarded integrity as honesty in relation to not stealing, not its real meaning, the quality of having strong moral principles (Concise Oxford English Dictionary.)


There were many Kiwi thieves for the Ministry of Social Development to actually have a department called the Integrity Intervention Centre. A couple of days after arriving back in Christchurch after visiting her mom at her 80th birthday celebrations in Durban, a trip paid for by Leah's older brother, Leah received the following form letter from NZ's Ministry of Social Development:

Travelling Overseas and Your Payments from the Ministry of Social Development

We are writing to you about your recent travel out of New Zealand and your payments from the Ministry of Social Development

Leah's teacher salary was so low we received a weekly accommodation supplement from WINZ, dole dept part of the Ministry, to help pay our house rent. Although a highly qualified teacher, with teaching experience in SA, UK & NZ, Leah's NZ private school salary was insufficient to pay the bills. Thus she had to do part time work, like extra lessons & lecturing teachers, over & above her full time teaching job.

We [nannies] regularly compare our records with information received from other government agencies to make sure the information we [nannies] have is up-to-date and correct. [i.e. Nanny State spying on its own citizens]. A recent check of your file [WINZ dole file. We had to sign a declaration to the effect that we allowed WINZ to check with other govt depts, or we wouldn't get dole rental supplements.] has shown the details held by the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) and by us are not the same. [Leah didn't tell WINZ she was going to SA for her mom's 80th birthday party]. We [nannies] want to make sure you are getting the right amount of money, [Yeah right!] so we [nannies] need to confirm these details. [Never mind that I'd stayed in NZ in our Christchurch rental house all the time that Leah was in SA. Our rent still had to be paid despite Leah going on an overseas holiday. She thoroughly deserved that holiday after receiving crap wages & salaries in NZ's low wage economy for 19 years].

Customs records indicate that you left New Zealand on 18/12/2013 by Flight Number NZ883. [Welcome to Orwellian NZ].

Fascist nannies were such brilliant, programmed spies, they never supplied Leah's return flight date nor number, which their Fact Sheet below informed they must.

We [nannies] have updated your file with the above information.

What happens next:

If this information is wrong:
You can: [Bold print, colons & underlining].

Either
Call the Integrity Intervention Centre on this free phone number ... option 3 between 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday with the exception of Wednesday when the hours are 9:30am to 5:00pm. [Why were nannies in the Integrity Intervention Centre so incompetent that they couldn't call us instead of posting a snotty form letter? WINZ regularly posted 1000s of gormless form letters to clients without any thought involved by WINZ ineptocrats.] We [nannies] need to hear from you within 10 working days from the date of this letter. When you call please tell us your client number ... This will help us give you a better service [Yeah right. WINZ service was a load of crap!]

Or

Fill in the form at the end of this letter and send it back to us by: 

Mail: ...                                                       Fax: ...                                             Email: ...

Leah filled in the form, posted it to WINZ & phoned WINZ. Nanny Cheryl informed Leah that as Leah had been out of NZ for more than a month at least a weeks' accommodation supplement would not be paid by WINZ to Leah. My accommodation supplement would be paid as usual. So Leah was punished by WINZ for not telling WINZ about her going to her mom's birthday party in SA. 

If this information is right:
There is no need to contact us unless you have a query about this letter. If we haven't heard from you within 10 working days of this letter we will review your payments based on the information [spying] we [nannies] have.

A Fact Sheet, which has details about information matching, [spying] your rights and obligations, the actions we [nannies] may take regarding your payments, and what happens when we ask you for more information is attached to this letter. Please read it carefully.

If you need help, please call us. If your situation changes in any way let us know. [Er? What situation?] It might make a difference to the money you get. You can call us free, on the numbers listed at the end of the attached Fact Sheet.

Thank you for your co-operation.

During SA's fascist apartheid, there was a Ministry of Co-operation and Development which forced non white, non citizens to do what they were told!

Yours sincerely [Ha!]

Tania Linton
Service Manager
Integrity Intervention Centre

This sort of insulting letter was concocted by Wellington Baby Boomer nannies, who'd had free tertiary education paid for by NZ Welfare State. There was no such benevolence in present Nanny State NZ. The letter was designed to snare tertiary students & graduates, after signing up for incredibly expensive tertiary educations paid for by student loans & student allowances, then fleeing NZ to work overseas, as they couldn't possibly pay off their student loans in NZ's present Nanny State, low wage economy.

After I arrived in NZ, in 1996 I did one semester's post grad study at Lincoln Uni, before I dropped out. I already had over 10 year's tertiary education, 2 degrees, 2 diplomas, paid for by myself in SA, which NZIS & NZQA happily accepted when I applied for our NZ residence visas 20 years ago, as NZ got all my education, work experience, chattels, family & SA money, free. It took 10 years to pay back my NZ student loan, with interest.

Jake & Luke, although now working, both have expensive NZ student loans to pay back. Jake has worked in the hospitality industry full time for 8 years. His wages are so low, no way can he pay back his student loan yet. Ditto Luke, 2 years in the joinery industry. Snag: Provided they stayed working in NZ they needn't pay interest on their student loans. The moment they went overseas to escape NZ's low wage economy, their student loan time bombs started ticking at exorbitant interest rates. They would be harassed by WINZ, StudyLink, Customs, Integrity Intervention Centre nannies & anonymous spies should they leave and / or return to NZ without coughing up. Those Baby Boomer spies & harassers would've had free tertiary education.

There were 1000s of NZ tertiary students & graduates working in NZ & overseas in the same Student Loan bind as Jake & Luke.

NZ Nanny State, Integrity Intervention Centre provided the following Fact Sheet, a hotchpotch of nanny drivel from various Acts to justify NZ fascist state spying on its citizens:

The letter attached to this Fact Sheet has been sent to you by the Ministry of Social Development. This Fact Sheet sets out important details about information matching [spying] your rights and obligations. It also tells you about any action we [nannies] may take regarding your payments and what happens when we [nannies] ask you for more information. Please read it carefully. 

Information Matching [spying] and the Privacy Act 1993

The Ministry of Social Development manages pay outs from Work and Income, StudyLink and Senior Services. We regularly compare information [spy] about our clients with information we receive from other government agencies under relevant legislation. These are formally called authorised information matching programmes, [spying] and the Privacy Commissioner oversees these programmes under the Privacy Act. [Condones spying].

The aim of these [spying] programmes is to make sure our clients are getting the right amounts of money [and to do what you're told by a fascist state]. We [nannies] compare information we hold about you with information about you that we [nannies] receive from the New Zealand Customs Service. [Spying]. This information matching [spying] programme is being done under the Customs and Excise Act 1996. [Spying].

If we detected a problem with your file [an 80th birthday party for a SA granny] as part of an information matching [spying] programme, we must, under section 103 of the Privacy Act tell you. [Jawohl!] We [nannies] must also tell you of the actions that may be taken as a result of the problem [80th birthday party] being detected from the [spy] programme. The Privacy Act calls these actions "adverse actions." [Raus! Detention without trial].

Review of Payments and Adverse Actions

When a person's circumstances change [overseas birthday party] the Ministry of Social Development is able to review his or her rate of benefit, Student Allowance, Student Loan or other financial support [dole]. For payments and services you receive from Work and Income the review is carried out under section 81 of the Social Security Act 1964. We can also look [spy] into the payments and services you receive from StudyLink under section 307(4) of the Education Act 1989.

The Ministry of Social Development can take any or the following [indecent] actions:

* Ask for more information. If you do not provide that information within a specified period of time, under section 11 of the Social Security Act 1964 we can require any other person or organisation to provide information [snitching] we might need for the review of your Work and Income payments and services, [?] and under 307(5) of the Education Act 1989, we can ask any other person or organisation, to provide any information [snitching] we [nannies] might need when we [nannies] look into the payments and services you receive from StudyLink. [Snitching for inflame nannies].

* In some cases your benefit, Student Allowance, Student Loan or other financial support may be suspended, declined or stopped [thenceforth to live as a streetie in fascist utopia]. We can also decline future applications for Student Allowance and Student Loan if, without reasonable cause, you do not provide any information that we [nannies] request from you [for intellectual suicide].

* If you have been overpaid and owe a debt to us, it must be paid back. We are able to recover this debt because we consider no error was made in establishing this debt. [My WINZ experience over several years: WINZ was farcical, as WINZ regularly made overpayment errors, then blamed beneficiaries for those errors, as this Fact Sheet did.] You will be given all the details of the debt and will have to arrange repayments. This money can be taken out of a benefit or other financial support you are currently getting.

* If [IF] you owe money to us and you have acted illegally there may be legal action taken against you, or there may be a penalty amount added to your debt.

Moral 1: Don't take out a Student Allowance, a Student Loan, a rental accommodation supplement then go to granny parties overseas.

Moral 2: Nannies who posted form letters boasting about their spying, alleging a crime & threatening immoral Acts, legal actions & penalties, without checking & obtaining full information from so-called clients, were retards.

Nannies went nuts:

If you disagree with this decision, you can ask for a review. [Farcical, like CERA's zoning reviews]. We [nannies] must receive your request for review within three months of this letter. You can download a form from the Ministry's website (...) or write to us by letter, email or fax. If you can't do this within three months, please talk to us. [?] If you have a good reason for the delay, your review may still be considered.

Under section 22 of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Act 2011, clients receiving New Zealand Superannuation are entitled to receive payments for the first 26 weeks of any absence from New Zealand providing that they return within 30 weeks. If they do not return within this timeframe, subject to certain exceptions, they would not be entitled to New Zealand Superannuation and a debt would be established from the day after leaving New Zealand. If they returned after the 26th week and before the 30th week a debt would be set up for the intervening period. 

Nannies forced codgers, wanting to retire to the warm Australian E coast, to endure ghetto NZ. Alternatively codgers had to dodge in & out of NZ every 6 months to renew state pensions. Farcical. Meanwhile PM Key regularly moaned about Kiwis who lived & worked in Oz, who didn't get Oz state benefits, like Oz dole & Oz medical benefits, which NZ provided for Oz citizen in NZ.

Collection of Personal Information

When we [nannies] write to you because of an information matching [spying] programme, we ask you to call us and tell us why we should not take further action on your payments. [Why don't spying nannies call their alleged criminals?] In some cases we [nannies] ask you to send us more information.

Clients Receiving Payments and Services from Work and Income and StudyLink

If you receive payments and services from Work and Income and we [nannies] ask you for more information, we [nannies] are making a preliminary request in terms of the Code of Conduct (the Code) for obtaining information under section 11 of the Social Security Act 1964. The request meets the terms of the Code for Obtaining Information under Section 11 of the Social Security Act. [Spying].

Delete Social & one had all the fascist iniquities of apartheid SA, with nannies using various Acts to harass, sometimes torture, sometimes murder. With all the nanny spying, justified by various Acts, NZ was on the slippery slope to becoming the skunk of the world as Mandela put it.

If you receive payments and services from StudyLink and we ask you for more information we are simply requesting that you provide that information. [Torturers simply do that too].

The personal information we are collecting from you is for the purpose of reviewing and determining your past and present benefit, Student Allowance, Student Loan or other financial support, and to stop any overpayment before a debt is created. [WINZ cockups!] The intended recipients of the information you provide are authorised individuals working for the Ministry of Social Development. [Spies]. Collection of the information is not required by law. It is voluntary. [Bullshit! Why didn't nannies underline & bold print this information]

If you are able to provide us with the information requested, we [nannies] will give you a reasonable time to do so. [After threatening legal action & penalties]. If you do not give us the information requested, we [nannies] will either review your payments and services received from Work and Income and StudyLink, based on the [dubious] information we [nannies] already have or require relevant third parties to supply the information to us.

For example, we can require any other person or organisation, under section 11 of the Social Security Act 1964, to provide any information [snitching] we [nannies] might need for the review of your Work and Income payments and services or we [nannies] can ask any other person or organisation, under section 307(5) of the Education Act 1989 to provide any information we [nannies] might need when we look into the payments and services you receive from StudyLink.

The information will be held by the Ministry of Social Development, and you can ask to see it. You can also ask us to correct it [after WINZ cockups].

If you consider that our preliminary request for information breaches the Code, you may have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. A copy of the Code can be obtained by telephoning the Ministry on ... or by accessing the Ministry's website at ...

If you have any questions, please call:

Integrity Intervention Centre ...

Work and Income ...

StudyLink ... 

If NZ employers paid higher salaries & wages, all the above crap would be void.

Wed 29.01.14. I walked from London St to Burnside about 10 kms, mainly residential suburbs. There were many demolition sites & busy commercial zones like Bealey Ave & Merivale, but also many inhabited houses in need of repairs or rebuilds. Three years post quakes, that was an indictment of slack EQC, slack Fletchers & slack insurers, like slack Southern Response. The named entities were NZ govt entities. SCIRT so-called repaired roads were still crap, full of potholes, bumps, excavations, detours & contractors' graffiti on pavements. SCIRT was a NZ National govt / Council entity.

Thurs 30.01.14. The Press reported finance minister English recommending that employers pay employees more as the economy was improving. So long as NZ National govt didn't have to cough up of course. It was election year, so politicians were boasting how they'd spend taxpayers' money. Parliament was discussing paid parental leave increasing from 14 weeks to 26 weeks. Labour leader Cunliffe wanted parents of infants to be paid nappy & feed dosh. That would encourage bigger families & more bludgers on the Domestic Purposes Benefit. And more "work" for WINZ nannies the biggest dole bludgers of all. Without all those bludgers WINZ nannies would be unemployed.

PM Key last week touted more pay for excellent school principals sent to poorly performing schools & more pay for excellent teachers. My experience with teacher, merit performance pay in SA was that there was never enough dosh to pay excellence & it wasn't easy to judge teacher excellence, as every class was different. Most principals were arts grads & hadn't a clue about the teaching needs, expectations & work conditions of science & biology teachers like myself.

Fri 31.01.14. On a trip up to Lake Tekapo I picked up a local rag The Fairlie Accessible from Fairlie. If readers think I'm bonkers in my satire of NZ Nannie State & snitching / dobbing in, here's an article by Fairlie's nannie cop from the Heartland of the South Island:

Police Notebook

Hello again and I hope the New Year is treating you all well. The weather has not really co-operated during this summer season so far, but will probably come right when the kids go back to school.

A couple of weeks ago a much loved cat was shot and wounded with a slug gun around Regent St area. I would like to hear from anyone that has information on this matter or knowledge of who owns a slug gun in this local area. [Snitchers welcome.] 

Last week there was a nasty nose to tail crash between a car and a farm ute on Clayton Rd that could have turned out a lot worse if seat belts were not worn. No lasting injuries were received, but the vehicles were extensively damaged. Two sheep dogs got thrown out and later recovered in Fairlie a bit shaken up.

I had reports [snitching] of young kids driving tractors or motorbikes on public roads without any adults around. This type of practice is clearly inappropriate due to the obvious legal issues, [er illegal] but the possible dangers are even scarier. Youngsters unsupervised around machinery and vehicles are a recipe for disaster and we as adults have a responsibility to keep them safe.

Thanks to all good honest people out there who are still handing in found property. If you have lost anything then the police station would be a good place to start. [Years ago when I reported Jake's lost SA passport at Papanui cop shop, a fat lady cop called a grey haired, paunchy cop, who objected to my loud deaf voice & basically told me to bugger off & report at Central Police station!] If you have found any property, then that should be handed into the police also. The old myth of "Finders keepers losers weepers" does not apply. It is the same as stealing if you do not return found property to the owner or police. [Who "steals" the property if cops never find the original owner?]

The druggies will be out and about tending their crops over the summer period so be on the alert and report [snitch] suspicious behaviour or activity. You can remain anonymous if you like.

It may be a good time to remind people again to check the expiry date on their firearms licences. Ten years can slip by [Ho hum, Heartland NZ] and before you know it you are paying an extra $113 to re-apply and unwillingly committing a criminal offence of being in possession of firearms without a licence. [Since when were renewal fees not extortion?] If you have moved address you will also need to contact police in writing of your new address within a month or you are inadvertently committing another criminal offence.

Have you got a licence? Nanny State, Police State NZ.

Until next time be careful out there!
... Fairlie Police 

Leah & I received almost identical form letters, dated 03.02.14, where nanny Rachel Lock, National Manager, Integrity Intervention Centre, posted us each a repeat Fact Sheet from The Ministry of Social Development telling us that the ministry was cutting Leah's accommodation supplement of $27.50 for one week, with the crunch sentence: In most cases a client travelling out of New Zealand cannot receive payments from us. 

Thurs 06.02.14. The Press reported that the WINZ bldg on Winston Ave, Papanui, had been sold. Like so many other govt & Council bldgs, the bldg was briefly closed post 22.02.11 quake for safety inspections. I wondered where all the Ministry of Social Development & WINZ nannies would go when their $680 000+ p.a. rents expired? Weekly, I parked next to that gruesome WINZ bldg when I banked at nearby ANZ bank. The white pancake style bldg had toxic WINZ memories for me. The WINZ open-plan office had one-way glass windows, a beefy, security goon at the glass door & myriads of overhead CCTV cams to protect nannies from fearsome dole bludgers, er clients.

I recalled a white nanny some years ago at Winston Ave WINZ seriously lecturing me about Labour's "Jobs Jolt," then months later an Indian nanny sanctimoniously telling Leah & I that as we were older beneficiaries we would be "treated differently" from others. We were both 50 somethings then. In other words, WINZ would stop bitching me to getta job! Any job, like envelope stuffing (true, I had that force fed me by a Sydenham WINZ nanny & her Oz eunuch boss Manning) so long as I didn't disgrace their "job seeker" books anymore. The white WINZ bldg at Winston Ave was as gruesome as the blue, tilt slab, Sydenham WINZ bldg on Colombo St. The latter would be demolished post quakes.

Another nanny narrative: Riccarton WINZ's Heather McKellow sent us WINZ form letters for years & other WINZ busy-work bumf purporting to help me getta job. I was sent on several ineffectual interviews by WINZ at various organizations purporting to help job seekers find jobs, a waste of my time, as interviewers just went thru the motions so they could claim funding from WINZ. One grey haired eunuch even nodded off in his Hereford St office while "interviewing" me.

On one occasion Council & WINZ cooperated to get job seekers like myself off the dole. I was interviewed by councillor Helen Broughton, purporting to be a personnel boffin, in McKellow's Riccarton WINZ office. When nanny Broughton asked why my medical information (deafness) wasn't on my CV, I knew nanny Broughton hadn't a clue. I was sent to St Thomas of Canterbury College, Hornby, for an interview, for a photocopier / typist job, support for lazy teachers & secretaries, in a nannie's filthy photocopier room.

As the school, Council & WINZ would all contribute to my paltry $11/hour pay, when I asked the principal who my actual employer was, he didn't know. McKellow & Broughton also expected me as a parent to break the law by making Luke, 12 years old then, a latch-key kid while I did the job. When I refused that stupid set up, we got hysterical phone calls from nanny McKellow trying to organize another meeting between nannies & me, even at our rental home. Like the above Integrity Intervention Centre nannies, they docked our dole for a week, without any explanation why they wanted me to break the law.  

Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.


See English backs boost in wages (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Fund sells Papanui landmark for 6.7m (The Press / Stuff Co).

Beyond Quake Walls. Christchurch Ineptocracy

Quake Ineptocracy focus. Tuesday 21.01.14. SA brother-in-law emailed me a pic found on eBay: T shirt with Ineptocracy & definition printed on the T shirt:

                 Ineptocracy

           - (in-ep-toc-ra-cy) -

A system of government where the
least capable to lead are elected by
the least capable of producing, and
where the members of society least
likely to sustain themselves or suc-
ceed, are rewarded with goods and
services paid for by the confiscated
wealth of a diminishing number of
                  producers

My email response:

We're experiencing Ineptocracy in Christchurch since quakes. Ineptocracy rules Canterbury: NZ National govt appointed commissioners in Environment Canterbury enable stock farmers polluting pristine Canterbury waters. Deep sea oil concessions around NZ too.

Inept CERA, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority: post-quake National govt dept, CERA ineptocrats vs Council ineptocrats. There are squabbles about post-quake land-zonings, demolitions, NZ National govt takings, rebuilds, new-builds. Mayor Parker resigned with some of his ineptocrat councillors booted out, or not seeking re-election. New mayor Dalziel & councillors elected. Town Clerk Marryatt resigned, his bldg consents dept, a fiasco. New Town Clerk pending...

Presently a NZ National govt appointed manager in Council is sorting out consents dept mess & other inept Council depts.

Brownlee, ex woodwork teacher, is CERA minister; Sutton, ex Orion electricity boss, is CERA's appointed CEO; Isaacs, ex Timaru Town Clerk, accountant, was CERA's appointed Demolition boss, now appointed CBD Rebuild boss of the Christchurch Central Development Unit. (CCDU). Demolition boss to Rebuild boss!

Eighteen months ago, CERA ineptocrats produced a CBD Blueprint for grand bldgs like a Convention Centre, Rugby Stadium, various Precincts like Health, Sports, Innovation, Performing Arts, Kids' Playground, Bus Interchange, Justice & Emergency Services, Frame Parkland, but forgot to Blueprint affordable housing, shops, schools. So far, 3 years post-quakes, no foundations are laid for any CERA Blueprint bldgs.

Why did CERA deal with Council to share costs of most Blueprint anchor projects, when CERA knew that town clerk Marryatt had under-insured Council assets & wanted to use unknown quake insurance settlements for Council assets to fund shared Blueprint anchor project costs? Should Council have insufficient funds for CERA's Blueprint anchor projects, it was rich that CERA then wanted Council to sell Council's revenue producing assets, like Christchurch Airport & Lyttelton Port, to fund CERA's Blueprint anchor projects! Borrowing on Council assets was more sensible than selling the family silver. Once ratepayers' assets were gone they were gone forever.

Brownlee minister of EQC. EQC ineptocrats caused suffering for 1 000s of claimants over the last 3 years with slow settlements. Insurers followed suit.

Inept Ministry of Education closed & merged several Christchurch schools. Thus communities lost staff & school facilities from closed & merged schools, while parents & kids of closed & merged schools had to travel further to other schools, with increased costs: travel & new uniforms.

Mon 27.01.14. Brownlee demanded Council showed transparency in its finances regarding insurance payouts on trashed assets & Council asset shares (The Press 25.01.14) but Brownlee's EQC & CERA showed no transparency in their finances. Brownlee asked for commercially sensitive information to cajole Council & ratepayers to pay for CERA's Blueprint projects.

Fri 31.01.14. CERA's media release boasted about 7 349 red-zone properties, 98% of which CERA eligible property owners had accepted NZ National govt's / CERA's offers. CERA waffled about 2013 census showing many property owners of damaged properties had relocated within 4km distance from their damaged properties. Misleading, as tenants like son Jake, post 22 February quake also moved across town, Jake from a Waltham damaged house-rental, to a St Albans damaged garage-rental, then post-winter to a Geraldine St flat-rental closer to the CBD.

CERA hadn't stated the number of new houses being built in Christchurch to replace CERA's 7 349 red zone houses. Too few, hence the housing- crisis, where our sons would soon pay exorbitant rents with 3 other tenants for an old, 2 storey house at Ashgrove Tce , overcrowding to enrich a landlord. Given NZ's low-wage-economy, not one of those young adults could afford to pay the full house-rent on their own. Due to low-wages, it was impossible for them to save for ownership of their own housing, as they were busy paying a Baby Boomer's rental- house mortgage. Given NZ housing & land unaffordability, our sons were locked out of home ownership, no matter how hard they worked for low- pay. Baby Boomers had lots to answer for, they'd bought cheaper houses, before inflation struck our sons.

Since quakes, we'd seen Christchurch degrade into a more dangerous place to live. Demolition-dust & road excavation-dust were daily hazards. Tagging increased, sign of degradation. Months ago, I'd encountered hoodlums stealing beer from an abandoned CBD property in broad daylight. Not a cop in sight. Recently, Black Caps cricketer Ryder was mugged near Jake's Brewers Arms work, Papanui Rd. The pub was robbed before Xmas.

Garlands Rd: Sunday night, The Brewery by The Tannery at Jake's new work, an attempted robbery by 2 hoodlums using sawn-off shotguns. A patron was assaulted with a gun butt. No money stolen, pub boss schmoozed the thieves. Monday morning when I dropped Jake off at work a police tape cordon stopped workplace entry. Jake said he & his workmates waited a long time before they could start work. Nineteen years ago, we left SA due to that sort of violence.

Deans Ave: Five years later, 15.03.19, a terrorist shooter would kill 51 Muslims at Friday prayers at Al Noor Mosque & Linwood Ave Mosque. (We'd experienced that sort of terrorism for decades in SA). Only after that massacre would NZ gun laws change, making it hard to own automatic firearms.

Leah returned from SA last week after visiting family & friends in KwaZulu-Natal & E Cape. She said many Christchurch roads were like Third World SA roads. e.g. Christchurch potholed Barbadoes St was like the potholed road to Richmond, KZN, where ANC / Inkatha had bloody faction-fights during transition from apartheid to the Rainbow Nation. So much for minister Brownlee's recovery: Garden City to Demolition City, so far. Barbadoes St: just one of hundreds of trashed streets, poorly repaired by SCIRT.

Wednesday 05.02.14. The Press pic: Housing minister Smith, flanked by CERA minister Brownlee. Headline: "Plan unveiled for 'affordable' 500k housing." Smith planned to build 275 so-called affordable houses for 350k-500k each, between Halswell & Wigram, near the new motorway. We knew the area well, we'd lived in Halswell for years. If Smith though those new houses were affordable he was delusional. If Brownlee though those 275 new houses would solve the housing-crisis he was delusional, as there weren't enough houses built to cover loss of red-zoned houses & loss of trashed houses awaiting rebuild after slow insurer settlements. Smith & Brownlee condoned housing-shortage by maintaining low- supply & high prices during an election year.

How could my sons' low-wages in hospitality & joinery, enable them to save house deposits on so-called affordable housing after they'd paid their bills, including expensive rents?

Baby Boomers, Smith & Brownlee were beneficiaries of properties bought cheaply by their parents. History by Michael Bassett & Luke Malpass from their report, "Priced Out. How NZ lost its housing affordability:" 

From 1951 WW2 returned servicemen tenants could buy state housing cheaply.
From 1954 new houses could be build with a cheap 3% loan from State Advances / Housing Corporation.
From 1958 new houses could be built by capitalizing Family Benefits & adding that to the 3% cheap loans from State Advances / Housing Corporation.

Thus WW2 vets, Korean War vets, Vietnam War vets, Baby Boomers got cheap housing subsidised by NZ govt. Nowadays all those post WW2 houses, cheaply bought, could be sold at inflated prices. Presently their children are forced to suffer their greed when buying old or new housing in an inflated housing market. Never mind inflated bldg costs due to construction supplier monopolies & real-estate agents' commissions adding to housing inflation.

Why didn't Brownlee & Smith make schemes to help our children's futures? So far our children were a Jilted Generation, as authors Ed Howker & Shiv Malik described in their book: "Jilted generations how Britain has bankrupted its youth." Brownlee & Smith jilted our children's futures with expensive housing & student loans.

Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

See Christchurch homes severely unaffordable (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Work kicks off on justice precinct (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Plan for Triangle Centre Shelved (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Arrests over armed bar robberies (The Press / Stuff Co).

See No tenants left for the CBD (The Press / Stuff Co).

See CERA's recovery milestone reached today with final flat land red zone settlements, 31 January 2014.

See Plans unveiled for "affordable" 500k homes (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Quake claimants take the cash (The Press / Stuff Co).

Forget smooth perfect roads city told (The Press / Stuff Co).